Miller Around the World Day 4

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Woke up much refreshed. Breakfast in the hotel's tiny cafe, completely unprepared to feed 60 people more or less at once. People basically had to fend for themselves. Knowing Russian is a definite asset, as the staff knows no English beyond "thank you" and "welcome".

Back on the bus and off we went for our city tour, with Ziggy describing the main features of the city. First stop was the city museum. Although old-fashioned by Western standards, it was loving done, focusing on the region's rich natural beauty and flora and fauna, as well as its almost-extinguished aboriginal peoples.
Next stop was a bank where our team leaders exchanged money for us en masse. We then visited an official souvenir shop, whose wares ranged from tacky to exquisite. Violet purchased two matreshkas (Russian nested dolls) and a couple of souvenir magnets. Successfully paid with Visa, although the transaction took a long time.
The bus then climbed laboriously to the top of a hill far above the city which offered a splendid view of our surroundings. Petropavlosk is nestled along one side of Avacha Bay. Far across on the other side is an off- limits navy base where Ziggy says there are lots of subs. The bay is ringed on three sides by spectacular snowy mountains, some of them active volcanoes. The largest active volcano in Kamchatka, which we likely saw on the flight in, is called Vilyuchinskiy Vulkan.

The next stop was a brand-new Russian Orthodox church, officially open only a week but still under construction. It is perched all by itself on another hill that rises above the city. The doors were open so we explored the inside, which is absolutely beautiful, until we were shooed out by an irate workman.
We were then driven to a restaurant named the Golden Anchor (nautical theme) for an ample lunch, which included an excellent borsht and what I would call a Swiss steak. All very tasty. We are all starting to bloat with the vast quantities of food we are consuming.

It was now about 2 pm The afternoon excursion was to a hot-spring resort about an hour outside of town. A number of cats live there, including a couple of cute kittens Violet and most of the others enjoyed lazing in the 100 degree mineral water piped from a hot spring. I decided to get some exercise by tramping through the woods nearby, which are both similar to and eerily different from the woods back home, dominated by birch trees, many twisted in fantastical shapes by the wind and ice. Low vegetation, some identifiable, some not.

On the drive back we stopped for a photo shoot of the mountains and volcanoes that encircle the flat plain we were traveling. Quick stop at the hotel then on to a restaurant/night club, the Barack, on the top floor of a surprisingly modern shopping complex. Excellent smoked salmon and haddock among the appetizers, followed by a thick mushroom soup. We then enjoyed a show presented by a troupe of native dancers. Among them were some young children including a girl of perhaps six. The show was excellent. Main course followed: salmon again but who can complain when it is so delicious. Dessert was an excellent cheese cake.

On returning to the hotel, a group meeting was called. Apparently our organizers have been unable to get the paperwork done to allow our plane to land in Bejing because of a national holiday in that country. The fallback is to fly to Osaka, Japan and hopefully take a commercial flight to Bejing. Off to bed after a full day.

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